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Monday, January 18, 2016

Another Brick In The Wall

A nice, warm, commute - wouldn't it be nice...

For the first time since I started biking to work I had a brief moment of wanting to take the warm and dry car in instead of the fresh air and exercise. Instead of looking forward to my morning ride, all I could feel was an aversion towards putting on my bike clothes and be outside. Like I said, it was only a brief, passing thought, but nonetheless - it happened.

I woke up, heard the drizzle outside, felt the cold air hit me from the open window, and just for a tiny moment the temptation of the car and its comfort called me like a treacherous siren calling for sailors. And we all know how that turned out for the sailors.

So I put on my bike clothes and I chose the bike, but it didn't prevent me from casting a longing glance towards my car.

But then I remembered one of the reasons why I'm on my bike

The irony is that today was actually one of the mildest days we've had in a while. In fact, the weather was pretty much perfect. I suspect the brief reluctance I felt towards biking came from the icy weather and the two flats. Or perhaps it's normal to feel tempted to drive once in a while.

The ride in was good. Since it's Martin Luther King Day, traffic was light, and the only people still going to work were people like me who have professions where there's no such thing as a bank holiday.

Two things happened. I almost got high and I could have been blown to pieces by a bomb.

None of which happened.

Both things took place on the last stretch of road in to work. And both things happened right across from the hospital.

There was a group of homeless guys standing in the middle of the sidewalk as I biked passed. Two seconds after I had passed them, I got hit by a cloud of weed. And the cloud clung on like cobwebs in an attic.

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It's not ticking and it doesn't say ACME Dynamite Factor on it

For sizing reference

Right after the first incident, I spotted a bag in the middle of the sidewalk. At first I thought I might be hallucinating - weed cloud and all, but it was a real bag. Like a moron, I took it with me to check it out. Since the bag wasn't ticking, I felt fairly certain it wasn't going to blow up in my face Hurtlocker style. It didn't. Obviously. Turns out the bag only had a hardhat in it. Weird. Most likely this was patient belongings that for some reason was abandoned.

Perhaps the bag belonged to a construction worker who quit his job after being hit by a crane. I would quit my job too if that happened.